hmaly,
re:Frankly, once they open the borders, Nk will have no way of containing the refugee flow into SK,because of the amount of people fleeing starvation
The meetings are in one direction, the NK will not flee because they cannot get to the South. No one from the South wants to stay in the North except for a few delusional youth.
times.hankooki.com
President Pressed to Come Clean on Money Transfer
By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
Did President Kim Dae-jung authorize Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM)’s transfer of nearly $200 million to North Korea in payment for Pyongyang’s consent to holding the first-ever inter-Korean summit two years ago?
The question is making the political community hold its breath, waiting for President Kim to answer.
Kim’s aides have spared words on the issue since last week when Kim was quoted as saying that HMM should not be punished for the money transfer. Kim’s remarks were interpreted as an indirect admission to having prior knowledge about it, as a couple hours later followed an announcement by state auditors that HMM sent the money to Pyongyang and used it for inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.
In a morning briefing, Park Sun-sook, Kim’s spokeswoman, told reporters, ``Nothing to comment,’’ when asked about Kim’s plan on additional comments about Hyundai’s money transfer or about a proposal made by a key aide of his successor Roh Moo-hyun to ``politically resolve’’ the issue.
However, it is very unlikely that Kim will be able to tough out the money transfer scandal without further explanation. Speculation has it that Kim will touch on the issue at the Cabinet meeting today at the earliest.
Above all, President-elect Roh is putting pressure on Kim to clean up the political mess before he takes office on Feb. 25.
On Sunday, Moon Hee-sang, Roh’s chief of staff-designate, proposed a ``political resolution’’ of the issue, citing potential ill effects on inter-Korean relations from a drawn-out investigation. The proposal was rejected immediately by the Grand National Party (GNP), which demanded that Kim apologize.
Roh of the minority Millennium Democratic Party founded by Kim, has put a lot of effort into mending fences with the GNP to expedite his legislative initiatives. According to political watchers, Roh would run the risk of bogging down in a political quagmire at the initial stage of his presidency, if he sided with Kim.
In a slight turn of political nuance, Roh yesterday said the truth should be uncovered, although he added that the National Assembly should use its discretion to determine the scope and procedure of the investigation. In other words, Roh declared that he would not stand in the way of future inquiries.
However, it remains to be seen at what cost the truth will come.
Any confirmation that Kim had prior knowledge of the money transfer is expected to add credibility to the allegation that Kim bribed Pyongyang to hold the South-North summit, which helped him to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
This would not only wreak havoc on the country’s global image but also damage Kim’s reputation of an ``unearthly saint.’’
Inter-Korean relations would be also adversely affected at a time when the country is trying to play a positive role in the resolution of the North’s nuclear adventure. Roh has vowed to inherit Kim’s ``sunshine’’ policy of engaging the North. |
